<p>Just visited William and Mary with my son, and we were very impressed, For those who may have experience with the school and admissions (both positive and negative), I have several questions re: admissions and reality of competitiveness:</p>
<p>1) My son's SATs are 740/710/720; SATIIs Lit. 770, MathI 710</p>
<p>2) ACT composite 31</p>
<p>We are not VA residents, and the school told us they are more selective for out of state.</p>
<p>Are these scores marginal for W&M? </p>
<p>Any other comments on application, what to stress etc. </p>
<p>Questions are driven primarily by concern of banking to much on selective colleges, and getting a slew of wait list responses and being up a creek.</p>
<p>my kid got accepted to W&M and told me that quite a few other kids at school who have taken classes that are even more difficult did NOT get in / or got waitlist…so the ‘mystery’ goes on…
because we ( applicants in general ) do not get to see what goes on behind the scene so seeing one’s stats/grade without context does not really help…i wish i can be invisible & can see what goes in the admin!</p>
<p>you may enjoy reading the W&M college forum, the admin from WM commented there all the time w/ lots of info regarding course load etc etc.</p>
<p>from what I’ve read from the WM forum,they mentioned the rigorous of the HS course load to be an important factor as well as EC/leadership skill/essays etc
so, SAT & SATII alone is not a factor that will ‘make or break’ an admission…they have a holistic approach & look at everything.</p>
<p>my kid was totally ‘surprised’ when she got in
because lots of students from HS didn’t get in from previous years…we can only ‘guess’ that her essay was good or maybe they like all the classes she took…we will never know!
(we’re in-state)
hope this helps ya!</p>
<p>less AP than all the other ‘brainy’ kids in her HS ! ( i am not kidding ! )</p>
<p>advanced magnet public school programs so all 4 years of HS are:
mostly magnet level classes ( as much weight as AP) & a few AP.
I think from 10th - 12th grade,she took 8 classes ( no lunch break),
but some classes are electives but most are either magnet classes or AP.
<p>according to what i've read from the WM admin in their blog & forum, they look for : 4 yrs of the same foreign language, 4 yrs of science,& said Physic & Calculus as 'benchmark' of a rigorous course load ( its their own word)
my kid's course load exceed their requirement & her SAT is just about right in mark w/ WM statistic 9 SAT II lower than your son ).</p>
<p>so I don't know what "tip the scale" or what "strike the balance"...she thought that her Common Apps essay was very very good but honestly don't remember what she wrote for WM essay. </p>
<p>we did NOT send in any 'over-the-top' or un-conventional essay / projects that the WM admin blog talked about regarding students sending in "crazy things" to show about themselves....her essay is just that " a good written essay"</p>
<p>hope this helps ya!
(she is going to UVA)</p>
<p>one more thing:
WM has slightly less boys than girls.You can check that in their Common data set & school statistic. More girls apply & slightly less boys apply....i don't know if this will help or not.</p>
<p>Hi - One more question. When we visited, they stressed that interviewing is optional … my guess is that if you are serious, it is NOT optional … </p>
<p>we did NOT do any interview at all…because
mom (that’ me ) >>>made<<< her filled out the application…
her goal is UVA…for some un-known reason, WM never ‘clicked’ with her…that’s why when she got the acceptance email…this was like a real BONUS & “pad on the back”.</p>
<p>another friend applied ED & got in right away. that kid is in an IB program.i heard that WM likes IB program because they think their difficult classes mesh well w/ their college.</p>
<p>other kids in her HS that got in: some have higher SAT & higher class rank than she does. Some got rejected & waitlisted took more difficult level classes than she does.</p>
<p>they gave out a very generous financial aid to another student ( no cost to that kid! ).Our FA was next-to-nothing.</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman there now; from OOS.</p>
<p>Her SAT scores were (superscored) 800V; 680M; 750W; SAT IIs were in the high 700s.
ACT was 32. </p>
<p>She had a 3.96 GPA UW; 4.3 W; president of Debate Team and Key Club; Girl Scout Gold Award. </p>
<p>If it’s your child’s first choice, apply early decision. The acceptance rate is in your favor with ED.</p>
<p>Absolutely do the interview. At the very least, it demonstrates interest. </p>
<p>Junior year, she took two APs (English and APUSH), senior year she took 3 (Psych, Lit and Gov/Pol.) The other classes she took were Honors level. </p>
<p>Purely anecdotal, but one of my good friends is a freshman there now from OOS. She’s a good writer, so probably had a good essay, and had a good gpa (~3.8 or 3.9 UW) and class rank. She had a 29 ACT and her SATs were all in the mid to upper 600’s. She applied ED, which I think definitely helped. It seems as though your son definitely has a shot there. Good luck!</p>
<p>the reason I still pay close attention to what WM admin writes in their blog post & in the forum here is because
I still have a younger kid in HS ( 9th grade) who likes WM & will definitely try to apply there:)
i am not sure if we’re allow to post their blog post link here, but if you go to WM school website & find their admin blog post, they have lots of really great info there. i enjoy reading their blog & have ‘learn’ a lot about admission process.</p>
<p>Regarding the interview - it’s completely elective and not considered a gauge of the applicant’s interest in the school. (According to W&M’s common data set, student interest is not a factor that’s considered in admissions.) Interviews are evaluative, and are done by specially trained rising W&M seniors during July and August. There aren’t enough slots for all the students who want an interview. My feeling is that, if your kid is the kind of person who would do well in an interview, the interview can help; but if your kid is reluctant or especially withdrawn, it won’t do serious damage but it won’t help, either.</p>
<p>Students can usually sign up for an interview online, starting May 1st. Since you’ve already visited the school from a fair distance, you may not be up to return this summer. Your son’s scores are strong for W&M - the SATs are at the 75th percentile for this year’s enrolled freshman class. You should be aware that W&M’s finaid resources are quite limited for OOS students; it only promises to meet the financial need of instate students.</p>
<p>Do check out the CC W&M forum - there’s a very helpful adcom who posts regularly.</p>
<p>Just went through it with my D. She has a similar profile to your son. 2200 SAT, 32 ACT, 4.0, top 1% at competitive high school with tons of ECs, service, leadership, etc. and her essays were very strong. You might say she has the perfect profile … only she is a little light on the SAT / ACT for the Ivies and the full rides at highly selective schools (as I suspect your son is). She is accepted at W&M, Wake, Richmond, and Villanova with $4-$8K scholarships. She is waitlisted at Georgetown and UVA, and got rejected by Duke and UVA. She had excellent success with the large universities’ honors programs. Final decision: University Delaware, full OOS tuition merit scholarship, with 20+ AP credits transferring. We are all thrilled, at peace and so over the elite schools. I hope this serves as a reference point for your family. Good luck!</p>